This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 97-76370, filed Dec. 29, 1997, in the Korean Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk player which is capable of adjusting a tilt of an optical pickup.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical disk player, an optical pickup records/reproduces information by emitting beams onto an optical disk, while moving across the optical disk.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional disk player adopted in a notebook computer. As shown in the drawing, the disk player is provided with a disk tray 10, where a disk 19 is placed, moving in and out of a main body 11. A turntable 15, on which the disk 19 is placed to rotate, and an optical pickup unit 14, which emits optical beams onto the disk 19 to read information, are installed at the disk tray 10. The optical pickup unit 14, which is supported by a lead screw 18, moves across the disk 19 driven by a transfer motor 16.
In order to accurately record/reproduce information on/from the disk 19, the optical pickup unit 14 is required to emit beams perpendicular to a recording surface of the disk 19. However, due to errors in assembling a disk player or in manufacturing parts thereof, the optical beam emitted from the optical pickup unit 14 often does not land perpendicular to the recording surface of the disk 19. Thus, for the accurate recording/reproducing of information, means to adjust a tilt of an optical pickup is needed. Further, the adjustment means should not cause damage to the assembled state of the lead screw 18 and the optical pickup unit 14, or disturb the smooth operation thereof. That is, means to adjust a tilt of the optical pickup is needed which can maintain a normal state of a transfer mechanism of the optical pickup.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk player having an improved structure which can adjust a tilt of an optical pickup unit so that an optical beam can be emitted which is perpendicular to a disk while concurrently maintaining a lead screw and a gear for transferring an optical pickup unit in a normal engaged state.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
Accordingly, to achieve the above and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a disk player which includes: an optical pickup unit supported by guide shafts installed on a base for recording/reproducing information by emitting an optical beam onto a disk while moving along the guide shafts; a lead screw, rotated by a transfer motor, for transferring a driving force to move the optical pickup unit; an adjustment portion for adjusting a tilt of the optical pickup unit by moving up and down first ends of the guide shafts; and a power transfer portion having a threaded portion to be coupled to the lead screw and installed at the optical pickup unit to be capable of relatively rotating with respect to the optical pickup unit. In the disk player, as the optical pickup unit moves up or down, the power transfer portion and the optical pickup unit rotate relative to each other so that the gear engagement state between the threaded portion and the lead screw can be maintained.
It is preferable in the present invention that the adjustment portion includes: a cam member rotatably installed at the base and having a cam groove formed aslant along the outer circumferential surface thereof such that first ends of the guide shafts are inserted therein; and a support block supporting the second end of each of the guide shafts.
Also, it is preferable in the present invention that the power transfer portion includes: a frame fixed to one side of the optical pickup unit; and a pivot member coupled to the frame to be capable of relatively rotating and having a threaded portion formed thereon which is engaged with the lead screw.